If there is a decrease in rental or the lease period is shortened, stamping of the document is not required as Stamp Duty is not payable. There will not be any refund of Lease Duty paid previously.

Stamp Duty must be paid within 14 days after signing a Contract or Agreement. If the document is signed overseas, payment is due within 30 days after its receipt in Singapore.

A document is only considered duly stamped when full payment is made. A penalty of up to 4 times of the duty payable may be imposed for late payment.

The information stamped should be based on what is reflected in your tenancy agreement. If management fees is one of the considerations stated in the agreement, it should be included as part of your contractual rent when stamping your document.

If there is an increase in rental, you are required to stamp the document under "Variation of Lease" and Stamp Duty is payable based on the difference in rent amount.

As Stamp Duty is payable within 14 days from the date of purchase, you will need to:

1. Pay Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) in cash first.

   
   

2. Subsequently obtain reimbursement from your CPF account.

Drawing upon CPF savings to pay Stamp Duty is under CPF's purview. For further clarification, please contact CPF Board.

For foreigners purchasing a property in Singapore, ABSD at the applicable rate will be payable.

Under the Free Trade Agreement ABSD Remission, as a US Citizen, you will receive the same Stamp Duty treatment as Singapore Citizens.

If this purchase is your first residential property, you will not incur ABSD.

As HDB’s rules require buyers to dispose of their private properties within 6 months of the resale flat purchase, ABSD remission will be given upfront to purchasers of HDB flats. Hence you would not need to pay ABSD when you purchase the flat.

Please stamp your tenancy agreement using the e-Stamping Portal. You may refer to the detailed guide on How to stamp Lease or Tenancy Agreements.

Refunds may be allowed on rescinded or cancelled documents which have not been ""made use of"" if all the conditions are met under the Terminated Lease Remission.

Application for refund under this remission has to be made within 6 months from the date of termination. If approved, Lease Duty in excess of $50 will be refunded to the party liable, i.e. the tenant/lessee.

Apart from the contractual rent, you should include other considerations as stated in the lease/tenancy agreement, such as:

• Advertising and Promotion charge

• Furniture / Fittings charge

• Maintenance charge

• Service charge

• Any other charges, excluding GST charges